Plants vs. Zombies sees players placing different types of plants
and fungi, each with their own unique offensive or defensive
capabilities, across the front garden, a back garden with a swimming
pool, and the roof of a house in order to stop a horde of zombies
from devouring the brains of the residents. The playing field is
divided into a number of horizontal tracks, and in general, although
there are exceptions, a zombie will only move towards the player's house
along one track, and most plants can only attack or defend against
zombies in the track they are planted in. In the game's initial levels,
if the zombie reaches the player's house, a one-shot tool (a lawn mower
or pool cleaner) can be used to completely wipe out zombies in that
track, but the tool will not be restored until the next level. In later
levels, players have to purchase upgrades so as to adapt their
lawn-mower to new environments like pools or rooftops. Zombies, except
in special cases, attempt to devour any plants in their way while
heading towards the house.
The player starts with a limited number of seed packs and seed pack
slots that they can use during most levels. New seed packs are gained by
completing levels, while the number of slots can be increased through
purchases with in-game money. At the start of a level, the player is
shown the various types of zombies to expect and given the opportunity
to select which seed packs to take into the level. In order to plant a
seed, the player must have collected a specific amount of sunlight.
Sunlight is generated by plants which provide sunlight at regular
intervals, or is automatically generated regularly for the player during
daytime. Seed packs also have a short time delay before the same seed
can be planted again. Several plants are nocturnal, like mushrooms,
having a lower sunlight cost and are ideal for nighttime levels, but
will remain asleep during daytime levels unless awoken by a coffee bean.
In the "backyard" levels that include a swimming pool, seeds must be
planted atop lily pads
on water spaces, while on the roof levels, all seeds must be planted in
flower pots. The various plant abilities include firing projectiles at
zombies, turning zombies against each other, quickly exploding and
wiping out an area of zombies, and slowing down zombies. Certain plants
are highly effective against specific types of zombies, such as a
"Magnet-shroom" that can remove metallic items from a zombie, such as
helmets and ladders.
The zombies also come in a number of types that have different
attributes, in particular, speed, damage tolerance, and abilities. As
the player progresses in the game, the zombies will include those
wearing makeshift armour, those that are able to jump or fly over
plants, and even a dancing zombie that is able to summon other zombies
from the ground.[11]
In each level, zombies will approach the house randomly except at
special points where the player will be inundated with a huge wave of
zombies; a meter on screen shows an approximate timeline for the level
so the player can prepare for these waves.
Windows
Operating system
Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP
CPU
1.2 GHz
Memory
500 mb
Hard drive space
65+MB of free hard drive space
Graphics hardware
128 MB of video memory, 16-bit or 32-bit color quality
Sound hardware
DirectX-compatible sound
Mac
Operating system
Mac OS X 10.4.11-10.6.x
CPU
1.66 GHz+ (dual core)
Memory
1 GB
Hard drive space
50 MB
Graphics hardware
64 MB of video memory, 16-bit or 32-bit color quality
